Breaking News
by TARDISblue13times
Summary: Mason Bridge is really getting somewhere with his research on Harrison Wells, but when he stumbles upon a man named Barry Allen who just so happened to be a coma patient at STAR Labs for 9 months and the foster brother of the newbie at the CCPN Iris West, things start to get interesting.
1. Chapter 1

Mason Bridge sat at his desk looking over his research. He was the last one in the building, the last person having left a few minutes before. He needed to work late so he could put his full effort into his article, this one especially, he felt that this time he was really close to getting somewhere with all of the research he had done on Harrison Wells. As he was scanning over the various articles and blueprints that littered his computer screen, he began to wonder, what's been going on STAR Labs ever since the explosion? He knew that their staff had decreased dramatically and now only two people worked there other than Wells himself. So he knew they couldn't be doing what they were doing before, so what are they doing now? He did a bit of research on it. He found that a man named Barry Allen was a former coma patient there after being struck by lightning, having woken up a few months before. Curious, Mason found that Barry's dad was sent to prison for the mirder of his wife when Barry was 10. The West family took him in. West as in _Iris_ West. As in his new coworker Iris West. He decided she would be a good source of information. If Barry was still in contact with STAR Labs, he might know more about Wells. Therefore Iris probably knew about him.

The next day, as soon as Mason saw Iris walk through the doors of the CCPN, he called her over.

"So, the article I've been working on recently has something to do with STAR Labs and I found out that a few months ago, they had a coma patient whose name was Barry Allen who woke up recently. I did a little digging and found out that he went to live with you when he was 10 so I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about him."

"Um, sure. I guess. What questions do you want to ask?"

"Well, first of all, is he still in contact with STAR Labs?"

"Yeah, he's best friends with the people who work there. Caitlin and Cisco. And Dr. Wells."

"Do you know what they've been doing there? As you said, there are only 2 people left other than Wells and that's not nearly enough to keep the place going the way it was before the explosion."

"...No actually. I don't know what they're doing. My guess would be that they're still working on things just not on a larger scale."

 _Then where do they get the money to do that?_ He nodded. "Do you think there'd be a way I could talk to him?"

"Yeah, I think I could tell him and get you in contact with him."

...

Once it was her lunch break, Iris pulled out her phone and called Barry.

"Hey Iris." He said when he picked up.

"Hey, so Mason Bridge was talking to me today. Yeah, actually talking. Not just criticizing me about everything I do. Anyway, he was asking me about you and he said he wants to talk to you."

"Really? About what. Well, he said he was writing an article about STAR Labs and he found out about you and your coma and he wanted to ask you some questions about it."

Barry hesitated. Mason Bridge was an award winning reporter. If he found out about him being the Flash, that was it. No more secret identity. But it's not like he could say no, one he had no excuse, and two, he or Iris might suspect something. He would just have to be extra careful not to reveal anything important. "Sure, what time does he want to meet?"

...

Barry sat waiting anxiously at Joe's house for Mason Bridge to arrive. He didn't exactly know what the man was going to ask. He decided that if it came to it he would lie, and he just hoped that he could pull it off. He also hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. Iris said that he was researching STAR Labs and Barry just happened to have been in a come there for a little more than eight months. He was probably just going to ask him some things like how he was recovering or things like that. He really had no reason o worry as long as the reporter had no reason to suspect him of his secret identity. Right? He heard a knock on the door and went over to open it. Mason Bridge stood at the door.

"Hi, uh I'm Barry Allen, you must be Mason Bridge." Barry stuck out his hand for a handshake. Bridge took it and stepped into the house. They sat down on the couch.

"So I have some questions for you about STAR Labs. First thing's first, what's your connection with STAR Labs?"

"Well, ever since I woke up there from my coma, I've been in contact with them."

"Iris told me you were friends with them. How true is this?"

"Well, Caitlin is my doctor and Cisco is a friend."

"What have they been doing at STAR Labs ever since the explosion?"

"...What they were doing before, just with the decrease in staff they've had to make the projects smaller."

Mason Bridge nodded, not quite believing these words. "Well I think that's all I'll be needing for now. I'll call you if I need anything else but thank you for your time." He then quickly left the house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry that the last chapter was really Mason Bridge central, I promise that it won't be like that much longer, this is really just the build up for what will happen soon, then it will be Barry central. Also, Dr. Wells won't really be a big part of this, he might show up a few times just to comment here and there but mostly I won't include him. The first article Bridge was writing about Harrison Wells he is just kind of setting aside after he gets this new information so, he won't be dying or anything in this story. Although you're just supposed to assume that after this story takes place, Bridge picks back up his original article and** ** _then_** **Dr. Wells-the man in yellow-the reverse flash-Eobard Thawne- whatever you want to call him kills Mason Bridge. But for now, he will very much stay alive. Please read, review, and enjoy!**

...

The next day, Mason Bridge decided to head over to STAR Labs for a bit of research. Of course he didn't want anyone to know he was there so he set out for a stakeout. At around six in the morning, he drove over to the seemingly forgotten STAR Labs building and parked in front of it. His windows were dimmed so he didn't really have to worry about anyone seeing him and recognizing him. Also, it wasn't like his was the only car parked along this curb so it shouldn't raise any suspicions from the people he was watching, so he stayed and watched. In his car, he had brought along a lunch and a few snacks in case he got hungry and also a pair of binoculars so he would be able to get a closer look and, just in case he found anything promising, his notepad and camera to take pictures. He felt ready.

Bridge had been watching for about an hour and a half and wasn't really board yet. He was expecting on staying here the whole day to gather information. Anyway, at around 7:30, he saw a red streak fly across the road in through the doors of STAR Labs. Bridge had his camera out just in time to snap a photo before it was gone. His eyes slightly bulging out of his head he muttered to himself, "So that's what's going on in STAR." He kept his camera out from then on. For remainder of the day he saw the Flash go in and out of the building and he took about a million pictures, he was sure his memory card was almost full.

At around eight 8:00, the sun was going down but even with the dim light, Bridge could see the three figures walking out of STAR Labs. One was tall and skinny and he could just barely recognize him to be Barry Allen, another was fairly short and had straight black hair down to his shoulders his skin was a copper brown. He could easily recognize him as Cisco Ramone. The third was a few inches shorter than Barry and had long wavy ginger colored hair. He could recognize her as Dr. Caitlin Snow. The three were laughing and talking together.

Bridge took a few shots then jotted a few things down. About a million questions were going through his head but he strarted to have some things figured out. This was the Flash's headquarters obviously. Also, he had never seen the Flash come out after he went in that last time. He had also never seen Barry walk in the building in the first place. Now there could be some logical explanations for this, like Barry could've gone in before he got there and the Flash might still be in there, but it all fit! Barry Allen was struck by lightning created by the particle excelorator. Also, first sightings of the Flash hadn't been seen until just after Barry woke up from his coma. Also, judging from a few security cameras and reports, Barry was almost always late to work and he never had a steady schedule. He would pop in and out of work at random times but because he was so good at his job his boss wouldn't fire him. It all made sense. Barry Allen was the Flash.

...

Barry, Cisco and Caitlin walked out of STAR Labs after a long day of fighting crime and a lot of annoyed looks from Captain Singh as he arrived late to work for the millionth time. Overall it was a productive day, he had put out a few fires, stopped a few robberies, even prevented a homicide which he took pride in. He also got all of his work done as a CSI. It wasn't like it took him very long what with his super speed and everything. But the whole time, whenever he was at STAR Labs he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was there, but no one ever was. Just those regular cars that were parked in the curb as they were everyday, except... there was one car he didn't quite recognize. The other cars he recognized as cars he saw parked there everyday but there was one he had never seen before and he could've sworn that through those tinted windows he could see a figure sitting and watching him. He was almost tempted to go over there and wrench the door open demanding why they were watching him but quickly decided against it as it was probably just his imagination.

...

The next day, Barry sat in STAR Labs waiting for something to do when suddenly Cisco's eyes widened as he saw was reading the morning paper. (He also had nothing to do.) "Uh, dude, you may want to come over here and see this." Cisco said with a worried tone.

"What is it?" Barry walked over and peered at the newspaper Cisco was holding. "Oh no," he groaned. "This is really NOT good."

Curious, Caitlin walked over to what the two were looking at. Her eyes bulged when she saw the headline.

At the top of the front page of the newspaper, it read in bold letters, "The Flash: Identity Revealed."


	3. Chapter 3

The three just stared at the paper. Barry read through the article. First thing he noticed was that it was written by Mason Bridge. It suddenly all made sense. Before Bridge came and interviewed him, he must've suspected something therefore causing him to want to do more research on him. He was probably why Barry kept feeling like he was being watched the day before. Because he _was._ Mason Bridge was who he saw in that car.

Suddenly Barry's phone rang and he went to pick it up. It was Joe.

"Barry! Have you seen the news?" he asked anxiously.

Barry nodded but then realized Joe couldn't see it. "Yeah."

"There are so many reporters over here at the moment I would be really grateful if you could stop by. Also... Iris wants to talk to you."

"I figured." He hung up and ran over to the West house.

Outside were mobs of reporters, half of which turned around when they heard the familiar _whoosh_ at Barry came to a stop. He guessed it really didn't matter if he wore his suit or not seeing as just about the entire city knew he was the Flash.

Just as soon as he stopped, reporters had him almost completely surrounded. Each one asking multiple questions and shoving a sound recorder in his face or holding a sketch pad. He thought he even saw someone filming. He stood there trying to get them to aback away for a few seconds then decided to give up and flashed into the house where he baracaded the door so no one could get in.

Finally, once he got some peace and quiet, that's when Iris walked in.

"Hi Barry, or should I say the Flash."

He turned around when he heard this. "Iris.. I-"

"What Barry. Why didn't you tell me? Did you think you couldn't trust me?"

"I was trying to protect you. If you had known, you would've tried to get involved. More than you already have. It was already dangerous for you with your blog, but now that you know it could be even worse. If anyone suspects that you have some sort of connection with me then you might become a target."

"I'm hearing a lot of mights and maybes. But, I get why you didn't tell me. Just one question, did my dad know?"

"Yes, Joe knew right from the beginning. Or close to it anyway. I technically didn't tell him either. He just saw me fighting Mardon the day I woke up."

Right then Joe walked in from the kitchen. "Barry! You're here! So do you have any idea how to get rid of the reporters?"

Barry sighed, "I think I might."

...

Barry flashed into the CCPD. Fully clad in his red suit, mask up, he ran over to the microphone that was set up in front of a crowd of reporters. The first thing he did was pull down his mask. Then he began to speak.

"As I'm sure all of you now know, my name is Barry Allen and I work as CSI for the CCPD. And I am also the Flash. I came here because I am sure that there have been some unanswered questions and I would now be willing to answer them."

The crowd of reporters erupted with questions. Barry gestured to one of them to start talking.

"Are there more of you out there?" the reporter asked.

"Well, ever since the particle excellerator explosion, people with abilities have been popping up all over the place. I happened to get super speed while we found someone else with the power to turn himself into poisonous gas. We call them metahuman. And yes there are a lot of them out there that we haven't found yet. Most of the ones we have found haven't had the best intentions and so when more of those pop up, I'm here to stop them."

"We heard you're working with STAR Labs, is this true?" another reporter asked.

"Yes, that is true. I've been working with them ever since I became the Flash."

"But how can you trust them after the explosion?"

"Because they saved my life, on multiple occasions. They may have made a mistake in turning on that excelorator, but I've forgiven them for that. And so should all of you."

The questions went on like that. One afte the other. Barry answered as many as he could, there were some he couldn't quite answer truthfully, but most others were about how he was coping with his speed, how fast he could go, what other things he could do other than run, if he aged fast or not, things like that. The whole thing was being broadcasted on TV for pretty much the whole world to see. Once it was over, he turned away from the podium and was about to flash back to STAR when suddenly he heard his name.

"Allen, in my office!"


End file.
